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2nd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 4 of 12

Word Power

Compound words and opposites

What your child practices

Building compound words, finding opposites and spelling plurals (-s and -es).

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 4; Language 5 · compound words and opposites

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A compound word is two words joined together: rain + bow = rainbow.
  2. Opposites mean very different things: hot and cold, win and lose.
  3. Say both small words to check a compound word makes sense.

Example: Put the two words together: sun + flower. What new word do you make? Join the two words with no space. sun + flower = sunflower. Answer: sunflower

Word Power in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 4 of 12 in 2nd grade English Language Arts, after Story Builders and before Book Explorers.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Put the two words together. What new word do you make?

    lady + bug

    • 🏈football
    • 🐞ladybug
    • ❄️snowflake

  2. Question 2

    Put the two words together. What new word do you make?

    blue + berry

    • 🦋butterfly
    • 🧁cupcake
    • 🫐blueberry

  3. Question 3

    What is the opposite of “full”?

    • day
    • empty
    • dirty

  4. Question 4

    One cat, two…

    🐱 🐱
    • cats
    • cates
    • cat

  5. Question 5

    Put the two words together. What new word do you make?

    air + plane

    • 🍿popcorn
    • ✈️airplane
    • 🦋butterfly

  6. Question 6

    One dish, two…

    🍽️ 🍽️
    • dish
    • dishs
    • dishes

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